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The Conviction Statistics: Minors, offers annual data on the sociodemographic characteristics of convicted minors (14 to 17 years old) in a final sentence. Additional information on criminal offenses and measures taken is also provided. In addition, more detailed information on sexual crimes is given.
This is a statistic whose source of information is the Central Registry of Sentences of Criminal Responsibility of Minors and the Central Registry of Sexual Offenders, owned by the Ministry of Justice and the information refers to the conviction notes in final judgment, registered in both records throughout the reference year.
Main sociodemographic characteristics investigated on the convicted minor: sex, age and nationality of the minor.
The statistics cover all the sentencing notes in final judgement entered in both registers during the reference year.
Minors sentenced by final sentence.
The population under study of the statistics is the group of people between 14 and 17 years old sentenced in a final judgment and registered in the Central Registry of Sentences of Criminal Responsibility of Minors and in the Central Registry of Sexual Offenders during the reference period.
From a geographical point of view, the statistics cover the entire national territory.
National, Autonomous Community and Provincial data are provided, referring to the location of the judicial body that issues the sentence.
There are results available on the INE website since 1998 and on paper since the middle of last century.
The year 2007 is considered the base year of the statistics, given that this year was the one in which a methodological change took place, and therefore, a break in the series.
Until 2007, the information was based on the use of questionnaires filled out by the Juvenile Courts for each sentence handed down (whether final or not). As of 2007, the Central Registry of Sentences of Criminal Responsibility of Minors of the Ministry of Justice has been statistically exploited. As a result, the series is broken, since it goes from investigating those convicted in sentences issued by the judicial bodies, which are mostly not final, to studying those minors convicted by final judgement and therefore recorded in the Register. Since 2017, more detailed information on sexual offences has been provided by also exploiting the Central Register of Sex Offenders.
Number of convicted minors, criminal offenses, and measures adopted.
The statistics are annual. The data refer to the conviction notes in a final sentence registered in the Central Registry of Sentences of Criminal Responsibility of Minors and in the Central Registry of Sex Offenders, during the reference calendar year.
Data referring to the period: Annual A: 2020
The compilation and dissemination of the data are governed by the Statistical Law No. 12/1989 "Public Statistical Function" of May 9, 1989, and Law No. 4/1990 of June 29 on “National Budget of State for the year 1990" amended by Law No. 13/1996 "Fiscal, administrative and social measures" of December 30, 1996, makes compulsory all statistics included in the National Statistics Plan. The National Statistical Plan 2009-2012 was approved by the Royal Decree 1663/2008. It contains the statistics that must be developed in the four year period by the State General Administration's services or any other entity dependent on it. All statistics included in the National Statistics Plan are statistics for state purposes and are obligatory. The National Statistics Plan 2021-2024, approved by Royal Decree 1110/2020, of 15 December, is the Plan currently implemented. This statistical operation has governmental purposes, and it is included in the National Statistics Plan 2021-2024. (Statistics of the State Administration).
The Conviction Statistics: Minors, is prepared on the basis of the Collaboration Agreement signed between the INE and the Ministry of Justice on 3 July 2007, modified by the one of 21 November 2017, according to which the Ministry of Justice makes available to the INE the Judicial Registers under its ownership for the statistical exploitation of the information contained therein.
Once the statistical exploitation has been carried out, there are no information exchanges with other institutions.
The Statistical Law No. 12/1989 specifies that the INE cannot publish, or make otherwise available, individual data or statistics that would enable the identification of data for any individual person or entity. Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics stipulates the need to establish common principles and guidelines ensuring the confidentiality of data used for the production of European statistics and the access to those confidential data with due account for technical developments and the requirements of users in a democratic society
By virtue of the collaboration agreement signed between the INE and the Ministry of Justice in July 2007, modified by that of 21 November 2017, the Ministry of Justice sends the microdata file to the INE without containing direct identification data of the persons registered in both registers.
The advance release calendar that shows the precise release dates for the coming year is disseminated in the last quarter of each year.
The calendar is disseminated on the INEs Internet website (Publications Calendar)
The data are released simultaneously according to the advance release calendar to all interested parties by issuing the press release. At the same time, the data are posted on the INE's Internet website (www.ine.es/en) almost immediately after the press release is issued. Also some predefined tailor-made requests are sent to registered users. Some users could receive partial information under embargo as it is publicly described in the European Statistics Code of Practice
The results of the Conviction Statistics: Minors are released annually.
The results of the statistical operations are normally disseminated by using press releases that can be accessed via both the corresponding menu and the Press Releases Section in the web
All relevant documents related to the Conviction Statistics: Minors (press release, detailed results and methodology) are published on the INE website:
INEbase is the system the INE uses to store statistical information on the Internet. It contains all the information the INE produces in electronic formats. The primary organisation of the information follows the theme-based classification of the Inventory of Statistical Operations of the State General Administration . The basic unit of INEbase is the statistical operation, defined as the set of activities that lead to obtaining statistical results on a determined sector or subject based on the individually collected data. Also included in the scope of this definition are synthesis preparation.
The results are available on the INE website (Society -> Security and Justice):
The publication is structured in 3 blocks: national results, results by Autonomous Communities and Cities, results by provinces. Each block offers results on convicted minors, criminal offenses and measures adopted. There is also a module for those convicted of sexual crimes with the same table structure.
Number of accesses AC1=206,723
Number of accesses AC2=781
There are no microdata files available to users.
It is possible to request tailored information from the INE Information Area. For more information consult the following link:
The methodology is available on the INE website on the page corresponding to this statistic. This standardized methodological report is also a source of detailed information on various methodological aspects of it. It can be consulted at:
Likewise, this standardized methodological report constitutes a source of information on various methodological aspects of statistics.
Metadata completion rate AC3= 100%
Sections 10.6 to 17 of this standardised methodological report contain the various quality aspects associated with this statistic. It is the user-oriented quality report for this statistic.
Quality assurance framework for the INE statistics is based on the ESSCoP, the European Statistics Code of Practice made by EUROSTAT. The ESSCoP is made up of 16 principles, gathered in three areas: Institutional Environment, Processes and Products. Each principle is associated with some indicators which make possible to measure it. In order to evaluate quality, EUROSTAT provides different tools: the indicators mentioned above, Self-assessment based on the DESAP model, peer review, user satisfaction surveys and other proceedings for evaluation.
During the annual processing of the statistics and in order to guarantee their reliability, we detect and analyse possible systemic or random errors that may affect the quality of the information (invalid values, inconsistencies between variables, imputations of "non recorded" values) in the main variables (date of birth, date of commission of the crime, nationality, etc.).
The legal basis on which the Central Registry of Sentences of Criminal Responsibility of Minors and the Central Registry of Sexual Offenders is constituted, as well as the obligation to communicate to both the conviction notes in a final judgment, contribute to guaranteeing exhaustiveness, coverage and quality of its content. The methodological change carried out in 2007 consisting of the statistical exploitation of the Registry has allowed a significant improvement in the quality and exhaustiveness of these statistics.
As of 2007, the level of coverage has been significantly improved (more detail is given in sections 14.1 and 14.3) and results on criminal offenses and measures adopted have been incorporated.
Until the reference year 2011, provisional results were published and later definitive results. The improvement in quality has made it possible to dispense with the provisional results, directly disseminate definitive data and significantly improve the indicator on the timeliness of the statistics. The collaboration of the Ministry of Justice has been very important in achieving this objective.
The main users of this statistic are:
- Ministries and other public bodies (Ministry of Justice, General Council of the Judiciary...)
- Researchers and universities (departments of demography, law, sociology, statistics, etc.).
- Territorial administrations (Autonomous Communities, City Councils, etc.)
- enterprises and non-profit institutions (especially those working in the social field).
- Individuals
The INE has carried out general user satisfaction surveys in 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016 and 2019 and it plans to continue doing so every three years. The purpose of these surveys is to find out what users think about the quality of the information of the INE statistics and the extent to which their needs of information are covered. In addition, additional surveys are carried out in order to acknowledge better other fields such as dissemination of the information, quality of some publications...
On the INE website, in its section Methods and Projects / Quality and Code of Practice / INE quality management / User surveys are available surveys conducted to date.(Click next link)
The user satisfaction surveys carried out can be consulted on the INE website, in its section on: Methods and projects -> Quality and Code of good practices -> Quality management at the INE -> User surveys, where you can see the assessment of the "Society: Education, Culture, Health, Justice" in which this statistical operation is framed, which can guide the users' opinion about it.
Although there is no community regulation, the Statistics of Convicted Minors provides the information requested in the National Statistical Plan.
Therefore, data completeness rate R1= 100%
Until December 31, 2006, the collection of information was carried out quarterly through a paper bulletin completed by the Juvenile Courts for each sentence handed down. This type of collection carried with it a high partial and total lack of response, negatively affecting the accuracy of the information.
As of 2007, the statistical exploitation of the Central Registry of Sentences of Criminal Responsibility of Minors is carried out, therefore, the statistics are exhaustive and there are no sampling errors. With respect to non-sampling errors, the necessary studies and controls are carried out to evaluate them and limit their importance.
This concept is not applicable as it is a comprehensive investigation.
Sampling errors A1= Not applicable.
During the processing of the information, non-sampling errors are detected and limited as far as possible (no response, completion errors, etc.). However, the obligation to communicate to the Registry by the judicial bodies the information relating to the sentencing notes in final judgement, as well as the measures adopted for the control, organisation and management of the Registry itself, introduces an additional guarantee that reinforces the authenticity and integrity of the data contained therein. In any case, and in order to reduce the possible lack of response to a minimum, the file is requested from the Ministry of Justice some time after the end of the reference period, so that the absence of information due to the lack of communication to the Registry within the established period is practically null.
Over-coverage rate A2= Not applicable
Proportion of common units A3= Not applicable
Non-response rate per unit A4= 0%
Non-response rate per item A5= 0%
Imputation rate A7= 0.00% (nationality of the convicted person)
The results of the statistics are disseminated 9 months after the end of the reference period of the information.
Opportunity first results TP1= Not applicable
Opportunity final results TP2= 9m
The dissemination of the results is carried out in accordance with the structural statistics availability calendar that the INE prepares and publishes each year.
Timeliness (delay in publication) TP3= The calendar is met
The availability of a methodology, a register source of information and a common processing in all the geographical scope, guarantees the comparability of the results between the different Autonomous Communities.
Comparability with the rest of the countries of the European Union, in the absence of a common statistical regulation or standard, depends as much on their respective legal frameworks as on the methodology of the research carried out in each country.
Until December 31, 2006, the collection of information had been carried out quarterly through a paper bulletin completed by the Juvenile Courts for each sentence handed down, most of which were not final.
As of the reference year 2007, based on the Collaboration Agreement signed between the INE and the Ministry of Justice in July 2007, modified by that of November 21, 2017, the primary source of the data was changed to the Registry Center for Sentences of Criminal Responsibility of Minors. This new source of information, the basis for the exploitation of the statistics, contains the sentence notes corresponding to the final sentences registered in it.
This change led to a break in the series, so that the results of the Statistics are comparable from the reference year 2007, being, therefore, the number of comparable elements of the time series of the Convicted Statistics: Minors since last break, equal to 17.
Length of comparable time series CC2= 17
The Conviction Statistics: Minors obtains data from the Central Registry of Sentences of Criminal Responsibility of Minors and the Central Registry of Sexual Offenders that contain information on the final sentences issued. Although with a differentiated approach, there are other sources of information such as, for example, the Secretariat of State for Security. The results from this source are considered generally consistent with those obtained by the INE, although they differ as a consequence of their distinct nature and the methodology applied in each case. The Secretariat of State for Security provides information on the complaint phase, while the Conviction Statistics: Minors of the INE, investigates the completed trial phase.
The internal consistency in the Conviction Statistics: Minors is the consequence of the application of the same methodological criteria and of a detailed analysis of the possible inconsistencies existing between the different variables.
The estimated budget appropriation necessary to finance this statistic foreseen in the 2024 Annual Programme is 49.13 thousand euros.
The burden on respondents is zero, as this statistic is obtained from information provided by an administrative register.
The INE of Spain has a policy which regulates the basic aspects of statistical data revision, seeking to ensure process transparency and product quality. This policy is laid out in the document approved by the INE board of directors on 13 March of 2015, which is available on the INE website, in the section "Methods and projects/Quality and Code of Practice/INE’s Quality management/INE’s Revision policy" (link).
This general policy sets the criteria that the different type of revisions should follow: routine revision- it is the case of statistics whose production process includes regular revisions-; more extensive revision- when methodological or basic reference source changes take place-; and exceptional revision- for instance, when an error appears in a published statistic-.
As from the 2012 reference year, it is not intended to publish provisional results or revise published data. The data disseminated from this statistic are final.
Taking into account the dissemination policy of this statistic, the revision of its data does not proceed in practice, since there are no preliminary or provisional results.
Average revision rate A6-MAR= Not applicable
Average revision rate A6-MAR= Not applicable
The source data of the Conviction Statistics: Minors are administrative. They are obtained from the Central Registry of Sentences of Criminal Responsibility of Minors and the Central Registry of Sexual Offenders, owned by the Ministry of Justice.
In these registers, the firm resolutions for the commission of a crime or misdemeanor that impose measures dictated by the Juvenile Courts are registered. The registered information comes from the conviction notes corresponding to final sentences.
Statistical concepts coincide with legal concepts.
Data is obtained on an annual basis. The file is sent by the Ministry of Justice to the INE before the end of the first half of the calendar year.
The information is obtained from the Central Registry of Sentences of Criminal Responsibility of Minors and the Central Registry of Sexual Offenders, owned by the Ministry of Justice, which contains information on the conviction notes corresponding to final sentences.
The Ministry of Justice annually extracts from both registries the information requested by the INE for the elaboration of the Statistics according to the facilitated registry design. This information corresponds to that contained in the sentence notes of the registered final sentences. The file provided to the INE contains dissociated individual information and does not contain personal identification data.
The Ministry of Justice sends the file extracted from both records to the INE with the following information:
Identifier of the convicted minor; country of birth; province of birth; country of nationality; sex; Date of Birth; code of the criminal offense committed; number of criminal offenses committed; code of the measure adopted; province of the sentencing body; degree of commission of the criminal offense; degree of involvement in the criminal offence; sentence date; date of commission of the criminal offense.
Once the information is received, a coverage control of the information is carried out as well as an analysis of its content in order to detect possible inconsistencies. Likewise, a control of valid values of the different variables under study is carried out.
Once the validity of the received file has been verified, in a second phase certain variables are recoded and transformed and secondary auxiliary variables are created that allow the calculation of criminal offenses and measures adopted, and detect duplicates.
In a later phase, inconsistencies between variables are automatically detected and corrected. Once the cleaning is finished, we obtain derived variables and the results tables.
The last phase before the dissemination of results consists of analysing the aggregate information and correcting potential errors or inconsistencies not detected in the previous phases.
The information that is processed comes from administrative records and it is not necessary to make any type of adjustment.